The weather in Brooklyn, NY (for the past week), has been absolutely mind-boggling. People were jogging in their shorts the other day, and tonight we are expecting snow.

Good Grief!!!

The planets must be shifting or something. Because this weather makes no sense at all. The other day, I just put on a wrap when I went around the corner. A wrap???? In January??? Never happened before. Then I went to the laundry and didn't even need to put a coat on. And little children were running around with no jackets on.

I could not believe it.

The the sky darkened, and I got in the house and in two minutes, the rain came and the lightening hit and my satellite dish kept giving me the message on my tv "searching for signal". Always does that when it rains.

And when the weather does that, I can't even straighten up, let alone use my right knee.

I should live in the desert. This I know!!!

melody

Melody, the weather is weird down under too, it's summer here but we have had some floods in the top end of New South Wales but other places are facing serious water shortages.
Were i live, the winter used to be a god send my burning feet, doesn't the hot weather affect your feet at all ?

Brian

Brian:

I'll be honest with you. The only thing that affects the burning of my feet is when my son calls. It's like clockwork. He calls, my feet burn. He doesn't call, well ....I just continue to take my Methyl B-12, and deal with my arthritis. I don't even know that I have neuropathy UNLESS MY SON CALLS.


So it has to be stress related. A trigger that sets up my body to go all screwey. That's the only thing I can think of.

One time, when he called and he was on the phone with his father for 30 minutes, and Alan was trying to get through to him, my whole body started burning. I just stood there and noticed how my arms were burning, and I was starting get real uncomfortable.

I said to Alan. "I'm on fire". He just looked at me.

Nothing I can do about this. He called on Christmas Day and News Years Day. So I burned on both of these days.

The next time he'll call is probably Valentine's day.

The odd thing is that I know when he's on the computer (he lives on the computer by the way). a little message pops up and says 'Frank is online". Now THAT doesn't make me burn, isn't that odd??

But having conversations with him, (and we do not fight, we do not raise our voices, we have perfectly fine conversations), my feet and legs will burn until the conversation is over. It's all in my mind, I know this. My mind sets up my body.

I do have good control otherwise, I don't let myself go crazy about him, I have learned to detach. I'm much better when he does not contact us. Hard to admit, I know this, but I'm just being honest.

Neuropathy is an odd ball of wax, ....you never know when it's going to happen. But in my case, it's definitely stress related.

Melody

I get the same way when my siister-in-law calls from Mi. We have know each other since childhood,I 'm sure it's stress..Ouch. Hugs Sue

Absolutely Melody, stress/emotional upset can aggravate the heck out of PN,
similar to throwing petrol on a fire, i am glad your not affected by the weather, it's dam hard to control those emotions though.
take care
Brian

I wish there was a magic pill, so...if we knew some event was going to befall us, that we could just take this pill, and it would quiet all our nerves, so nothing would burn.

Now wouldn't that be a cool pill???

Until it is developed though, I will just have to continue distancing myself from people who hurt me.

Sorry to go off topic, but (and it kind of relates to diabetes and neuropathy),I need to ask you guys your opinion.
I have lost friends over these past 3 years. Two to death, one, a friend of 46 years who stabbed me in the back, and more recently, one of my friends (also a neighbor), who I know for 10 years. Two years ago, she phoned me up and said "would you like to go to Costco with me", (Alan hasn't driven in 7 years), so of course I jumped at the chance". I did my shopping, saved big bucks and was eternally grateful. We became friends and every Wednesday, we'd go to the supermarket together. She never had to go out of her way to pick me up. I live right around the corner. And she wanted company in the car. I have never (I repeat never), have called her up and said 'Can you drive me here or can you drive me there?? I have Access-a-ride for that.

Well, two months ago, I knew it was Costco time and I said 'when are we going?" She said "I can't take anyone in my car? and I said 'why not?? and she said "my husband doesn't want me to". I said 'if it's an accident you are afraid of, isn't that the reason one has insurance?" She said 'doesn't matter". So I said nothing, and we were still friends although I never accompanied her in her car anywhere. I went to her home, she went to my home.
Last month they bought a 2008 car. Beautiful. I saw it on my way to the store.

I called her and marveled how the car was so nice. She said "oh, you like it, I really don't". I found that strange. Then I said 'do you still have the rule that you can't take anyone in your car?" and she laughed and said "I don't know yet".

So 8 days ago, I called her and she told me she hates to ride alone in the car, I then said "well, let's go shopping, I mean, we've been doing this for 2 years, I don't get the problem". She said 'my husband won't let me". I then said "so don't tell him, I live right around the corner and we can go, and you can drop me home, and then park your car, I mean wht's the big deal, I just don't get it, you have insurance". Then she said 'that's not the point". I then blurted out "so WHAT IS the point??" and she said (you guys won't believe this, because I still can't). She said:

"My husband doesn't want me to chauffeur anyone around" I was dumbstruck. I said 'what are you talking about? we go shopping, just tell him you don't want to go shopping alone". Her husband told her "nobody ever chauffeured me around when I was young, and she then said 'no one ever chauffeured me around either" Then she asked me 'did you ever drive anyone around?" I then said 'of course, Alan used to drive and we'd take our friends (who didn't drive), we'd take them out and when I was not married all my friends had cars and I was the only one who didn't drive, and we all went out together" I wasn't about to say anything else because the whole thing made no sense so I then changed the subject. She then said she was tired and I said 'well, go and sleep".

Haven't heard a word from her since. Been 8 days.

She's a diabetic and she was told she has diabetic stomach. She knows I go to Cornell, she has seen me lose weight (I never mention a thing because I'm not stupid, but my body shows the difference). Her husband once commented to me privately "how did you lose the weight, why can't my wife do this?" and I just said "don't tell her you spoke to me about this, she's sensitive". I bet he said something to her and she's mad.

How stupid is this? She's a 63 year old woman who used to go shopping with me and now that I have my diabetes under control, and lost my weight (she's quite obese). Well, I sense that this has nothing to do with chauffeuring anyone around.

what is it with people, when their friends do something about their health, they feel threatened. Her doctor told her that she has neuropathy in her stomach and she yelled at him "what the hell do you know"?

How can a person just give up a friendship so easily? I will never understand people. Really, I won't.

Sorry to vent but this is rather disturbing.

mel

Jealousy can make some act very strange, i personally can't see why anyone should be jealous of another, just doesn't compute to me

Brian:

You're looking at it from a MAN's perspective.

Let me tell you, jealousy destroys friendships, well, it affects all people concerned.

I'll give you an example.

Twenty five or so years ago, I had a job at a secretary in a non-profit agency in NYC. I got along with EVERYBODY. That's my personality. We were a whole bunch of secretaries. This was before anyone had a computer on their desk.

Guess who was the first one to be chosen to go to IBM school and learn about computers? Me. Guess who was the first secretary to get the computer (desktop), and the first Dot Matrix Printer, at their desk? ME!!

Guess who everybody stopped talking to (and I mean every secretary in the place), for two years???? ME!!!

Not until all the other secretaries got a computer on their desk and then guess who they called to find out "how do I use this new contraption, what does the F10 key do, how do I do word wrap at the end of the paragraph". Who did they call?? (Well not GHOSTBUSTERS, I can tell you that).

Everybody started to speak to me. They didn't know how to do anything and I had gone to IBM school 3 days a week in the morning, and then came to work in the afternoon.

I never understood how some people can just give you the cold shoulder because you were chosen to do a project. I would never do that to anyone.

By the way, it was only the women who did this. The other employees in the company (the men), never dissed me, never ignored me.

The women did.

I guess it's a gender thing.

I think it's just plain dumb but then that's just my opinion.

Melody

Hi Melody:

My reaction too, was that your friend was jealous because you lost weight and looked so good. The fact that you worked hard to lose the weight and learned a new way to eat, didn't make any difference to her. She only knew that you looked good and she didn't. Yes, unfortunately this is a female trait it seems.

Shirley H.

Thanks Shirley:

I actually thought it was all in my head. We have a mutual friend who lives around the other corner. She is our age. She just lost 85 lbs over the past year because she had a heart scare and her doctor said "lose weight'. So she did.

When I happened to mention to my (let's call her the Jealous one), I said' Did you see , so and so"? She lost 85 lbs, my god, she looks great".

Her comment?? "Oh really", then she changed the subject.

I found that rather strange, but now that I look at it, it's not so strange.

I had my best friend of 46 years stab me in the back. I was godmother to her kid and she was the same to mine. We never had a disagreement since we met in high school at the age of 13. We were always chubby.

Well, over the years, I lost and gained, (she did the same) but ultimately she gained a lot, her daughter is over 500, and the sons are all over 250 so there's a gene thing going on as well as bad eating.

Well, two years ago, (after I had completely changed my appearance), she once made a comment "my god, look at you, holy cow, I can't even look at you, you make me so jealous'. We both laughed. (Why the hell didn't I see THAT coming??"

So she betrayed me and hasn't called me in 2 years.

Alan says: "They're jealous of you, you look good". I said to Alan: "are you out of your mind. I'm 60 years old, what the heck is there to be jealous of, I mean, when your 13, then you can be jealous, (you remember way back then, that if you had a friend and she made another friend, you would say "well you can't be friends with her, if you're friends with me". That's a kid mentality. I never did that by the way. Made no sense to me.

If I made a friend, than I shared that friend with all my friends. Who the heck says 'you can't have two friends at the same time"?? It's an immature mentality that does this.

Well, I must be around a lot of immature mentalities I would venture to guess.

I have no time, nor do I have the inclination to phone up people, and then say "did I do something to offend you, to make you mad"??? when I know full well, that I didn't do a darn thing.

I even asked Alan last night. "Do you think I did anything to her, that she doesn't want to go shopping with me". and Alan said "are you for real, she's jealous, can't you see that".???

Hit me with a wet noodle. What the heck is going on?, Do I only have to make friends with 75 year olds (like my lady friend around the corner with the sick doggee?"

Good grief.

I have to make new friends. At 60 no less!!!!

Oh brother.

Thanks for all the support. It was needed, believe me.

melody